The present disclosure relates to the separation of solvent from inorganic and organic solutions, and more particularly to the removal and purification of solvent from a salt solution stream.
The removal of solvents from inorganic or organic solutions is practiced widely in industry. Typically, the solvent to be removed is contained within an inorganic or organic solution stream. Thereafter, the solvent is often subject to purification processing steps. The purified solvent may be sold as an intermediate chemical solvent for use in subsequent chemical and industrial processes. Alternatively, the purified solvent may be sold as an end-product for consumer use.
Water is a typical solvent which is often contained in various inorganic and organic degraded sources. Water contained within such degraded sources typically is not useable. Accordingly, the water is generally recovered from such degraded sources to enable it to be useable and of value in several intermediate and end-product applications. Currently, the recovery of water from degraded sources is being employed on an industry-wide basis. As an example, water is being recovered from brackish or seawater streams by conventional methods such as evaporation and reverse osmosis. Water is also being recovered from other degraded water sources, such as agricultural runoff and industrial waste streams.
Many of the conventional recovery processes for solvents such as water are energy intensive, requiring relatively high temperature and pressure operating levels such that the process fails to be cost effective. Accordingly, water sources which allow the recovery of water without energy intensive processes are preferable. However, the availability of such water sources is rapidly decreasing. Accordingly, there is a need for a process which readily allows recovery of solvents such as water from their respective organic and inorganic streams.